NASA's Moon Mission Gets Most Appropriate Name

NASA's next mission to the moon is appropriately named, considering efforts to include the first female lunar walk. The mission is dubbed Artemis, after the Greek goddess of the moon and twin sister of the god Apollo, whose namesake mission propelled 12 US astronauts to the moon from 1969 to 1972. "I have a daughter who is 11 years old, and I want her to be able to see herself in the same role as the next women that go to the moon," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during Monday's announcement. But "there's still a long way to go before Artemis can actually deliver," per the Verge.

Indeed, Bridenstine said NASA would need an extra $1.6 billion on top of the $21 billion already requested in order to meet the accelerated 2024 deadline the Trump administration proposed in March for the new mission. Ars Technica cites three sources as saying the White House plans to cut the Pell Grant reserve fund, which helps low-income students pay for college, to make up the necessary funds, $1 billion of which is to be spent on development of a two- or three-stage lunar lander. "In the coming years, we will need additional funds," but "this is a good amount that gets us out of the gate," Bridenstine said. (More NASA stories.)